Jane from Created4u will giveaway a hand painted plate personalised with your child’s drawing. Customers have told Jane in the past that their fussy eaters have been happy to try new foods when eating from a plate they have designed themselves. Could this work for you? Either way, this giveaway will bring pleasure to any child and is a lovely way to keep your child’s art work forever.

About the plate…

Jane will copy your child’s art work onto a 21cm diameter ceramic plate. The copied drawing and writing of your child’s name will then be hand painted onto the plate using underglaze paints best matched to the colours your child uses. The plate will be dipped in a clear glaze after drying for 24 hours. After another 24 hours the plate will be ready to fired in our kiln, the firing process takes another 24 hours ( 8/9 hours to fire up to 1010 degrees Celsius & 16 hours to cool down). We only fire our kiln with a full load in it to be as economical and eco-friendly as possible with our use of electric. Therefore the finished plate it can take 7-14 days to produce for you. Will then post the plate out to you and let you know when the plate is on its way too you.

Using your plate … Your child will be able to eat off this plate as normal and it can be washed by hand. If you use a dishwasher please ensure you place it in the dishwasher without any other item touching it as this can cause chipping on the rims otherwise. Please do not put the plate in a microwave oven or a very hot oven as this can cause the plate to crack and break through high thermal shock. The plates are made from earthenware clay and this does not like sudden high intense heat. The plate can be warmed in an oven if desired but please put the plate into a cold oven and allow it to warm up as the oven does to a low heat.

Did you know that children who help to prepare food are more likely to taste what they cook. The parents of children who attend my cookery classes report back that their child is much more relaxed around food. They start to taste new foods that they have previously rejected. This knife and veg holder make food preparation safe and easy for children as they learn to handle a knife properly and safely. I’ll giveaway one knife and one vegetable holder to the lucky winner from our draw.

About the knife…

This fabulous knife allows children a feeling of independence and empowerment as they build their food preparation and knife skills safely.

The knife is easy to use in much the same way you would use a sharp knife. You do not need to use a sawing motion to cut through fruit and veg. It can be used on any fruit and veg even harder ones such as onions, small potatoes and apples.

The knife is so easy and efficient to use that I use it myself for most food preparation tasks at home

Vegetable holder £6

This looks like an extended comb. It’s a fab little tool which children find helpful to hold fruit and vegetables in place while they cut, keeping their fingers safely out of the way.

The extended prongs are inserted into the fruit or veg and the child holds the handle above to secure the fruit or veg into place and stop slipping. It allows for finer slicing, dicing and chopping as the knife can slide between the prongs. Excellent for teaching children to cut onions, apple, potatoes etc

Suitable for use by children aged 6 and upwards. (adults like using them too!)

Blunt slightly serrated stainless steel blade

Chunky blue sparkly plastic handle

Dishwasher safe

Would you like to enter to win?

Last entry for the giveaway will be on 7th February at Midnight. We will announce the lucky winner on 8th February.

This year I faced a dilemma; for the first time in the history of having children, mine don’t know what they want for Christmas!

…. and Christmas gift ideas for my kids are just not coming readily.

Imagine that! Does anyone else have a similar problem?

In terms of ‘things’ there isn’t anything they really want or need! So this year I’ve really had to put my Christmas Elf thinking cap on and get a bit resourceful. So I thought I’d share my ideas with you.

So now we’ve established that it’s not necessarily ‘THINGS’ we want this year, I’ve decided to think a bit out of the box.

Some of the things I’ve mentioned below are local to me, but I’m sure if you’re further afield there will be a range of similar options nearer to where you live.

Experiences:

For me, as a parent, it’s become more and more important to me to be spending time with my kids before they grow up and decide that I’m not cool enough anymore or I’m too old to do stuff with.

So I’ve come up with a lovely list of experiences that can be shared together.

Last year I bought membership to our new local theme park Dreamland and wanted this to be a stocking surprise, so I bought some gorgeous items from their gift shop and packed the membership cards up in a shoe box with the branded paraphernalia.

theatre tickets, a day trip to France, a weekend city break and theme park day tickets.

The positives of this type of gift are that they are something to look forward to once the Christmas glitter has gone, and they can be bonding experiences for families.

Photos can be taken during the experience and a montage created afterwards and framed as a memory.

Materials / tools to enable or encourage a hobby:

I’m all for encouraging my children away from their tablets and the TV. So any glimmer of an interest or hobby and I’m all over it. What better way to encourage this than by investing in their hobby.

I think Christmas is an excellent opportunity to buy really good quality materials and equipment that you wouldn’t normally consider spending out on during the year such as canvases, quality watercolour paints, a camera, football boots, specialist crafting equipment, roller skates, bike and sewing machine.

Here are some rollerskates that I totally recommend as they are size adjustable and an excellent price.

Thinking even further out of the box, why not put together something or somewhere that makes you child’s hobby even easier to access.

A pop up dark room?

A crafting desk or storage facility?

Personal space:

Ooh, how about creating a secret kid’s cave only to be revealed on Christmas morning? A treasure hunt leading your child to the scene of their new hideout?

It could be a shed in the garden that you secretly decorate inside and kit out with kid’s stuff like beanbags, bunting, battery operated lanterns and a do not enter sign on the door.

Or maybe you could cosy up the basement or cellar (if it’s in usable condition) with beanbags, TV and a mini fridge.

For younger children, what about an under the stairs hidey hole, or teepee? Children and teens love to feel independent and they love to have something to call their own.

Learn a skill:

Here’s a present that can last well beyond Christmas.

Why not book your child onto a slightly more unusual course in something they’ve not tried before.

I attended some wonderful bushcraft courses at Jack Raven Bushcraft in Ashford last year – here. They do organised group courses, family courses and also private bookings ranging from wood craft to cooking, to survival.

Talking of cooking…. I couldn’t write a post without including my own hobby.

Every child needs to learn to cook at some point, some are desperate to get cooking and sometimes parents just can’t face it happening in their own kitchen, or maybe don’t have the time?

I’m offering a six week cookery course on Saturday mornings in Ramsgate. A perfect pressie for grandparents, Aunties, Uncles, and parents to consider. I’ve thought about this quite a lot and whilst I’d love to receive something like this…

…It just wouldn’t feel the same without something to unwrap. So I’ve prepared a gift box. It’s basically a pizza style box with a personalised letter explaining the gift, and inside are some totally funky, tactile and smaller (for small hands) kitchen utensils along with some recipes to get started with. Find out morehere… http://makewithkate.co.uk/gift/

Do you think your child would like to receive this gift at Christmas?

Other courses you could buy into include climbing, horseriding, and cycling, skateboarding, dressmaking.

We have a lovely sewing shop here in Canterbury near to us that offers a wide range of courses, many for beginners and some especially for children.

I hope I’ve given you some inspiration for the child that thinks they have it all!

Please let me know of anything I’ve missed but could include.

I’m always on the lookout for a present that’s a bit different.

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